About the Author

Lori Palatnik is a writer and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio. She is the Founding Director of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, an international initiative that brings thousands of women to Israel each year from 18 different countries on highly subsidized programs to inspire them with the beauty and wisdom of their heritage (www.jwrp.org). She is a much sought-after international speaker, having lectured in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Central America, South America, South Africa and Israel, including featured talks at Yale, Brown and Penn. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik, and is the busy mother of five children, ages 25 to 15.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 9

(8)
jerome,
December 9, 2012 12:29 AM

Excellent video

Very good points for all of us. You must resist evil or it will overcome you. And if you know it is coming go kill it if necessary.

(7)
Sidney,
December 6, 2012 6:54 PM

This Should Clinch It

(In addition to my REPLY to (1) below,)
In the Mishnah of Daf Yomi on Wednesday, Shabbat(h) 63a, the majority opinion is that wearing a sword, etc. is a DISGRACE (translation ArtScroll). So if implements of war are a DISGRACE to their wearers (except of course in a war situation) so much so should it be a DIGRACE for children to play with their imitations.

(6)
Rosen,
December 4, 2012 2:55 AM

Jewish continuity

Another perspective on Chanukah, given that it was a fight in order to preserve Judaism for all generations, for Jews who decide to intermarry, this (IMHO) defeats the purpose of Jewish continuity, even under the anticipation of "getting the best of both worlds." The problem is, how can a Jew talk his/her fellow Jew out of an intermarriage successfully without coming across as nagging?

(5)
TMay,
December 3, 2012 10:06 AM

Israel needs help.

Israel needs money to pay for the anti-missiles, and for bomb shelters, and research money to pay for anti-missiles against longer range missiles, expected to be ready in 2015, the problem being that Israel expects that Iran will be nuclear by summer 2013. And Israel needs people to be informed and to answer back the people who tear her down with lies. It even needs decent movies. Sorry I don't like the Aish movie posted on this website "15 seconds". It is schizo, IMHO.
Iran can test Israel using its proxies, and use up Israel's stockpile, and get a cease fire when it wants as when Hamas' stockpile is low, and waste Israel's time letting it mobilize only to call a ceasefire, and then the US and the world does not allow Israel to go in and get rid of Hamas' stockpile of weapons, 12,000 missiles, and Hezbollah's 60,000 to 80,000 missiles, and Hamas places their stockpiles and launchers among schools and mosques and hospitals for maximum casualties.
Each anti-missile that Israel shoots at an incoming missile costs Israel $50,000. The missiles that Hamas uses costs a few hundred dollars.

(4)
TMay,
December 3, 2012 10:02 AM

The Left are ivory tower armchair quarterbacks IMHO.

It is part of the entitlement generation, also that they are out of touch with reality, also that they are out of touch with evil, also that they vote in leaders who are equally out of touch with reality and who live in LaLa land, with new and untested theories of proportionate force and disproportionate force in war, applied to Israel, and not applied to her enemies, nor any other country in history, and if Israel ever let down their guard for 24 hours could lead to death. Let these highfalutin theorists drive to the bad side of town, park their car and take a walk, and test their theory on themselves, without guards, and that includes Condi Rice, and other American politicians who insist that Israel ease its border control. Let Obama and or Hillary have their daughters stand at the Israeli bus stop without guards, waiting for a bus, after loosening the border restrictions due to US or world pressure.. After Condi ordered that when she was in power, a terrorist got into Israel within hours and an Israeli with a gun shot him rather than be killed or letting other Israelis in Israel be murdered. The same people with these theories live in houses with locked front doors, and locked cars.
And the same applies to US borders. How can the Left rationalize their reasoning that Palestinians who did not exist prior to 1967, and most of whom moved there due to jobs created by the returned Jews, have a right to a nation when they also insist that the USA which has been around 191 more years does not have a right to safe controlled borders? Saul Alinsky's book "Rules for Radicals, whose philosophy Obama and his administration lived by, taught that "The issue is not the issue. The issue is always the revolution." (Horowitz)

(3)
Yosef,
December 2, 2012 4:09 PM

Yes!

Thank you AGAIN for the inspiration......!

(2)
Cooki Maisel,
December 2, 2012 12:42 PM

Maccabees and Partisans - and what about the I.D.F.?

People in America are so far removed from today's reality in Israel. Certainly the Maccabees are a wonderful example and so are the partisans - why stop there? Our soldiers in Israel have been fighting for our existence - as well as for our land ("not just for land"???) and for our freedom to be a Jewish state in our own land that was given to us by Hakadosh Boruch Hu thousands of years ago. Do they not deserve even a mention?

(1)
Anonymous,
December 2, 2012 12:41 PM

I don't agree!

Yes there are times to fight, but there is no need for little chilren to pretend to fight with other little children with guns, swords, etc.

Sidney,
December 3, 2012 10:37 PM

Agree with Anonymous

My Rav and Rebbi, Rav Shimon Schwab, OB"M, of KAJ in Washington Heights would have no problem with a child playing the part of the holy Macabees in a school play. However I am sure he was against children playing with toy guns, etc. When there is a need to fight let the adults do it but children should not even in play imitate them.